Category: roman roth

Roman Roth has a way with chardonnay. Always has and probably always will. I don’t drink a lot of chardonnay, mind you, but I can recognize and appreciate well-made chardonnay of any style. For Wolffer Estate Vineyard 2013 Chardonnay ($19) Roth started with seven separate lots — all hand-harvested and fermented separately in 70% stainless steel and 30% French oak (his portion also completed malolactic fermentation). After six months of sur lie aging, those seven lots became one 1,117-case production. As I look back over my notes, I see that I wrote “fruity” three times, but it’s not just fruity.…

“Tastemaker” is a term typically used to describe a person — either a sommelier or writer in the wine world — who decides what is good, cool or otherwise interesting. With our new #NYTastemaker profiles, I’ve decided to usurp the term to mean someone who actually makes the wines, ciders, spirits, etc. that we love. A “tastemaker” should make something, after all. This week’s tastemaker is none other than Roman Roth, winemaker and partner at Wolffer Estate. Roman has been making wine on Long Island for a long time, was instrumental in the creation of the Long Island Merlot Alliance and is…

Sometimes, I just don’t want to talk about how much a wine costs. With Long Island wines already seen as over-priced by many and the ever-rising prices of Finger Lakes wines, it’s a topic that I cover enough already. I can’t tell you if Wolffer Estate 2012 Christian’s Cuvee Merlot ($100) is worth that $100 price tag or not. That’s really between you and your bank account. What I can tell you that I’ve bought it before — though admittedly not often — and that I’ve had the pleasure of drinking these wines back to the 2000 vintage and these…